After LeBron James won his first NBA title and Finals MVP award, his third league MVP and his second gold medal this summer, the comparison gained steam. Is LeBron better than Michael Jordan? People cited pure ability, rings, endorsements, style and popularity, but in the end it’s best to check the numbers before reaching any conclusions. So that’s exactly what we did.

THE REGULAR SEASON

We compared James’ career statistics to Jordan’s through the same number of games. James has played in 689 regular-season games in his nine-year career. Jordan hit that mark early in his 11th season, primarily because of a broken foot in his second year in the league. James, who entered the league out of high school and has not lost significant time to injury, is 27; Jordan, who had missed most of two seasons because of his first retirement, was 31.

ADVANTAGE, JORDAN

Field goal percentage: 51.4 to James’ 48.3

Free throw percentage: 84.5 to James’ 74.6

Offensive rebounds: 1.7 per game to James’ 1.2

Steals: 2.7 per game to James’ 1.7

Blocked shots: 1.0 per game to James’ 0.8

Turnovers: 3.0 per game to James’ 3.3

ADVANTAGE, LEBRON

Minutes: 39.9 per game to Jordan’s 38.7

3-point percentage: 33.1 percent to Jordan’s 31.0

Defensive rebounds: 5.9 per game to Jordan’s 4.6

Total rebounds: 7.2 per game to Jordan’s 6.3

Assists: 6.9 per game to Jordan’s 5.9

Personal fouls: 1.9 per game to Jordan’s 2.9

THE POSTSEASON

James’ teams have made the playoffs every season after his first two, giving him seven total playoff appearances and 115 playoff games for his career. Jordan hit that number in his 10th postseason appearance because the Bulls were one-and-done in his first three seasons. James has one ring; through the same number of games, Jordan had three.

ADVANTAGE, JORDAN

Scoring: 34.6 points per game to James’ 28.5

Field goal percentage: 50.1 to James’ 46.9

3-point percentage: 36.0 to James’ 31.2

Free throw percentage: 83.4 to James’ 74.5

Steals: 2.3 per game to James’ 1.7

Blocked shots: 0.97 per game to James’ 0.95

Turnovers: 3.4 per game to James’ 3.6

ADVANTAGE, LEBRON

Minutes: 43.4 per game to Jordan’s 41.8

Defensive rebounds: 7.1 per game to Jordan’s 5.1

Total rebounds: 8.7 per game to Jordan’s 6.7

Assists: 6.7 per game to Jordan’s 6.6

Personal fouls: 2.4 per game to Jordan’s 3.3

THE BOTTOM LINE: The numbers tell us LeBron can’t make any claims to Jordan’s crown just yet.

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